1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for managing a contact list, in which indications are provided on the contact list such that a user is able to ascertain his or her degree of intimacy with contact persons represented on the contact list by contact identifications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A contact list is a collection of contact identifications (IDs) which are used to represent actual other people (“contact persons”) in a communication system. Contact lists are used in a variety of applications, such as in instant messaging and email programs, as well as in mobile phones.
In the case of instant messaging, a conventional contact list typically provides status information of each contact person represented on the contact list. For example, a symbol may be presented next to each of the contact IDs to show that the particular contact person is offline, online, away, etc. Apart from such status information, however, more detailed information of the contact persons is not provided on conventional contact lists.